Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 255 AM EST Wed Jan 1 2020 Valid 12Z Wed Jan 1 2020 - 12Z Fri Jan 3 2020 ...Heavy rain returns to the Gulf Coast and heavy snow for the northern Rockies... Heavy rain and thunderstorms will be making a return to portions of the Deep South and into the Tennessee River Valley to begin 2020. There will be a deep surge of moisture from the western Gulf of Mexico ahead of a longwave trough over Mexico and a warm front lifting northward across the Gulf Coast region. Current indications suggest 2 to 4 inches of rainfall from Louisiana to southern Tennessee, and there may be some instances of flooding with a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall from WPC in effect for parts of these areas. A few strong to severe thunderstorms can also be expected. For the Pacific Northwest, a pair of cold fronts will make their way inland with a surge of moisture off the Pacific. The result will be heavy rain for coastal areas of Washington and Oregon, and heavy snow for the Olympics and Cascades. The central and northern Rockies will also be affected by these storm systems with at least a foot of snow possible for the higher elevations of northern Idaho and western Montana through Thursday morning. Elsewhere across the continental U.S., lake effect snow is expected downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as cold northwesterly winds cross the warmer waters. Mainly dry conditions are expected across the Florida Peninsula, the Desert Southwest, and the central Plains. Much of the central and eastern U.S. should begin the new year with temperatures near to above normal, and near to below normal for the Rockies and parts of the Intermountain West. D. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php